Disruption technology in mobility: Customer acceptance and examples

Abstract

Important things become part of our language. “Do not reinvent the wheel” is an old German proverb, which refers to one of the most important “breakthrough” inventions (the wheel) in the area of mobility-a need of still increasing importance in today’s societies. The history of mobility knows many more examples of disruptive technologies-all of them changed and shaped our world as we know it today. Recent disruptive innovations within the mobility refer to: •Simple and cost-effective access to mobility: The example of Uber shows how motorized private means of transport can become part of public transport. •Technological development: Tesla demonstrates impressively that eco-friendly electric cars with sporty design can beat traditional car technology. Self-driving cars are on their way and even telekinesis (steering by thinking) seems possible. •New mobility dimensions: Companies like Space X work on commercializing space travels for private consumers, thus opening the door to interplanetary tourism and super-high-speed traveling. For every innovation there are two challenges: The fi rst challenge is to invent it, i.e., all about engineering and technology, and the second one is to market it, i.e., all about mind and design that shape the customer perspective. And both of them do not just consist of make-or-break leaps but are continuous processes-on the way to the breakthrough and beyond. The “map of disruption” combines these two perspectives and provides a useful visualization on what is technically feasible and what is profi tably marketable. We start off by illustrating major trends in mobility and the challenges emerging from them. Section 8.2 provides the theoretical basis for the market acceptance of disruptive innovations: value theory as a general framework for consumer decisionmaking and the technology acceptance model (TAM) as a particular framework for technological innovations. In the third step, we introduce the map of disruptions. Finally, we integrate examples of disruptive technologies in the mobility business in the map of disruptions. We conclude by providing explanations why some technological innovations in the area mobility are accepted by the market and become potentially disruptive technologies, whereas others don’t succeed.